Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day | The Heart Hospital Baylor

The goal of this annual National Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day is to increase recognition of the specific risks and symptoms of heart valve disease, improve detection and treatment, and ultimately save lives. Here are some facts about valve disease you should know:

As many as 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with heart valve disease (HVD).

HVD involves damages to one or more of the heart's valves which disrupts blood flow by not opening or closing properly.

HVD becomes more common with age—1 in 8 people ages 75+ are estimated to have moderate to severe heart valve disease.

While some types of HVD are not serious, others can lead to major complications—including death.

After the onset of symptoms, patients with severe aortic stenosis, one of the types of valve disease, have a survival rate as low as 50% at 2 years and 20% at 5 years—without valve replacement.

Each year, an estimated 22,000 people in the U.S. die from their valve disease.

HVD can usually be successfully treated with valve repair or replacement in patients of all ages.

The survival rate for valve surgery is estimated at 97%.

People with HVD do not always have symptoms, and those who do may be told or believe that they are a normal part of aging. This makes detection of HVD critical.

Unfortunately, awareness about HVD is low. A recent study found that close to 50% of adults have never heard of HVD, and only 1 in 4 know somewhat or a great deal about HVD.

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Physicians are members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Health Care System's subsidiary, community or affiliated medical centers and are neither employees nor agents of those medical centers, The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano or Baylor Health Care System.